Changes

[[File:Sam Harris-2010.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|The atheist [[Sam Harris]] told a ''Newsweek'' reporter about atheism and public relations, "Frankly, it has a terrible PR campaign... It is right next to child molester as something you don't want to be."<refname="NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God">[http://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-poll-90-believe-god-97611 NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God], ''Newsweek'' 2007</ref> ]]Many [[Atheism and public relations|atheist publicity campaigns]], particularly one's by [[militant atheism|militant atheists]], are generally designed to be provocative which has the effect of further lowering the public's view of [[atheism]]/atheists due to religious individuals being offended (see: [[Views on atheists]]).

The atheist [[Sam Harris]] told a ''Newsweek'' reporter about atheism and [[Public Relations|public relations]], "Frankly, it has a terrible [[Public Relations|PR ]] campaign... It is right next to child molester as something you don't want to be."<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-poll-90-believe-god-97611 name="NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God], ''Newsweek'' 2007<"/ref>

Concerning [[distrust of atheists]], sociological research indicates that atheists are widely distrusted in both religious cultures and nonreligious cultures.<ref name="USATodayviewsonatheists">[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-10/religion-atheism/51777612/1 Study: Atheists distrusted as much as rapists]</ref><ref name="CPviewsonatheists">[http://www.christianpost.com/news/atheists-widely-distrusted-even-among-themselves-culturally-ingrained-uk-study-finds-160480/ Atheists Widely Distrusted, Even Among Themselves, UK Study Finds], Christian Post, 2015</ref><ref name="Independentviewsonatheists">[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anti-atheist-distrust-deeply-and-culturally-ingrained-study-finds-a6952276.html Anti-atheist distrust ‘deeply and culturally ingrained’, study finds], ''The Independent'', 2015</ref><refname="Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann 2006">Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann 2006</ref> According to a study published in the ''International Journal for The Psychology of Religion'': "anti-atheist prejudice is not confined either to dominantly religious countries or to religious individuals, but rather appears to be a robust judgment about atheists."<ref name="Independentviewsonatheists"/> The study found that many atheists do not trust other atheists as well.<ref name="Independentviewsonatheists"/>

In March 2015, the atheist philosopher [[John Gray (philosopher)|John Gray]] in an article at ''The Guardian'' titled ''What scares the new atheists'' reported:{{Cquote|"Today, it’s clear that no grand march is under way...The resurgence of religion is a worldwide development...For secular thinkers, the continuing vitality of religion calls into question the belief that history underpins their values."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/what-scares-the-new-atheists What scares the new atheists] by John Gray, ''The Guardian'', March 3, 2016</ref>}}

According to the American Marketing Association a brand "is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers." Marketing experts also endeavor to change people's perceptions of ideologies, political parties, political candidates, etc. through branding efforts as well.[[File:Birkbeck College, Woburn Square.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|Eric Kaufmann, a professor at [[Birkbeck College, University of London]], using a wealth of demographic studies, argues that there will be a significant decline of [[global atheism]] in the 21st century which will impact the [[Western World]].<ref name="sneps.net">*[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London]*[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/2011/05/eric-kaufmann-shall-religious-inherit.html Eric Kaufmann: Shall The Religious Inherit The Earth?]*[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/search/label/atheist%20demographics Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series]*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2bsh6oHnM Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref> See: [[Desecularization]] ]] Atheists have made various attempts to [[Rebranding|rebrand]] atheism such as the [[Brights Movement]], the [[New Atheism]] movement, the [[We Are Atheism]] campaign and the Out Campaign. Most of these efforts were ill-conceived or had [[Atheist organizations and scandals|scandals associated with them]] or backfired in other ways. For example, the New Atheism movement launched in 2004. The University of Minnesota reported in 2016 that over the previous ten years Americans negative view of atheists sharpened.<ref>[http://cla.umn.edu/news-events/news/atheists-remain-most-disliked-religious-minority-us Atheists Remain Most Disliked Religious Minority in the US]</ref>

Atheists have attempted various attempts to rebrand atheism such as the [[Brights Movement]], the [[New Atheism]] movement, the [[We Are Atheism]] campaign and the Out Campaign. Most of these efforts were ill-conceived, had [[Atheist nonprofit scandals|scandals associated with them]] or backfired in other ways. For example, the [[New Atheism]] movement launched in 2004. The University of Minnesota reported in 2016 that over the previous ten years Americans negative view of atheists sharpened.<ref>[http://cla.umn.edu/news-events/news/atheists-remain-most-disliked-religious-minority-us Atheists Remain Most Disliked Religious Minority in the US]</ref>[[File:Birkbeck College, University of London.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|Eric Kaufmann, a professor at [[Birkbeck College, University of London]], using a wealth of demographic studies, argues that there will be a significant decline of global atheism in the 21st century which will impact the [[Western World]].<ref>[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London]</ref><ref>[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/2011/05/eric-kaufmann-shall-religious-inherit.html Eric Kaufmann: Shall The Religious Inherit The Earth?]</ref><ref>[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/search/label/atheist%20demographics Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series]</ref><ref>[http://fora.tv/2010/09/05/Eric_Kaufmann_Shall_the_Religious_Inherit_the_Earth Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>]] The Innis Maggiore Ad Agency , which works with major corporations , says concerning rebranding/repositioning:{{Cquote|"When a brand’s meaning is strongly established in the mind, it’s extremely difficult — if not impossible — to change. It is possible to refine, adjust and hone a brand’s meaning when necessary. But repositioning a brand with a wholesale change? Hardly a chance."<ref>[https://innismaggiore.com/blog/jcpenney-showed-brand-reinvention-can-stretch-only-so-far/ Repositioning a Brand: JCPenney showed brand reinvention can stretch only so far] by Dick Maggiore at the Innis Maggiore Ad Agency</ref>}}

Professor [[Eric Kaufmann]] predicted that somewhere between 2021-2050 the [[Desecularization|secular population will plateau]] in Europe and in the developed world and then decline. <ref name="sneps.net"/> Given the difficulty of changing the "atheism brand", if Kaufmann is correct, this means that atheists will in all likelihood run out time in terms of changing the atheism brand.

Richard Dawkins said about New [[Atheism]], "[O]ur struggle is not so much an intellectual struggle, as a political one: What are we going to do about it?”.<ref>[http://secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.al/print/ Faithless: The politics of new atheism] by Steven Kettell</ref> [[Rhetoric]]ally, new atheists often took an aggressive, intolerant tone (see: [[Atheism and intolerance]]).  Steven Poole wrote in ''The Guardian'' about New Atheism: "New Atheism’s arguments were never very sophisticated or historically informed."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/31/four-horsemen-review-what-happened-to-new-atheism-dawkins-hitchens ''The Four Horsemen review - whatever happened to ‘New Atheism’?''] by Steven Poole, Thu 31 Jan 2019 02.30</ref>=== New Atheism and celebrity atheists === See also: [[Atheism and Mass Murder|Atheism and mass murder]] and [[Irreligion/religion and war]] and [[Atheism and violence]] and [[Celebrity atheists]] It is estimated that in the past 100 years, governments under the banner of atheistic [[communism]] have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 and 259,432,000 human lives.<ref>Multiple references:*[http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/04/289239.html The Black Book of Communism The Human cost of Communism - 100 Million], IndyMedia, April 4. 2004, Retrieved 5/23/2015*[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hpcws/lelivrenoir.htm "''The Black Book of Communism''"]. Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences website: Cold War Studies. Retrieved July 19, 2014.*Rummel, R. J. (November 1993). [http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM "How many did communist regimes murder?"] University of Hawaii website; Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War. Retrieved July 19, 2014.*White, Matthew (February 2011). [http://necrometrics.com/20c5m.htm "Source list and detailed death tolls for the primary megadeaths of the twentieth century"]. Necrometrics. Retrieved July 19, 2014.*Higgins, David (June 22, 2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20071008035420/http://www.sarasotamagazine.com/blog/template_permalink.asp?id=365 "Memory and ideology: Washington's newest statue is the Victims Of Communism Memorial"]. Sarasota Magazine website. Retrieved from October 8, 2007 archive at Internet Archive on May 22, 2015.*Radosh, Ronald (February 2000). [http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=2526 "''The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression''"]. First Things [journal] website. Retrieved July 19, 2014.</ref> Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.<ref>Rummel, R. J. (November 1993). [http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM "How many did communist regimes murder?"] University of Hawaii website; Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War. Retrieved July 19, 2014.</ref>  Theodore Beale notes concerning atheism and mass murder:{{cquote|Apparently it was just an amazing coincidence that every Communist of historical note publicly declared his atheism … .there have been twenty-eight countries in world history that can be confirmed to have been ruled by regimes with avowed atheists at the helm … These twenty-eight historical regimes have been ruled by eighty-nine atheists, of whom more than half have engaged in democidal acts of the sort committed by Stalin and Mao …  The total body count for the ninety years between 1917 and 2007 is approximately 148 million dead at the bloody hands of fifty-two atheists, three times more than all the human beings killed by war, civil war, and individual crime in the entire twentieth century combined. The historical record of collective atheism is thus 182,716 times worse on an annual basis than Christianity’s worst and most infamous misdeed, the Spanish Inquisition. It is not only Stalin and Mao who were so murderously inclined, they were merely the worst of the whole [[Atheism and Hell|Hell-bound lot]]. For every Pol Pot whose infamous name is still spoken with horror today, there was a Mengistu, a Bierut, and a Choibalsan, godless men whose names are now forgotten everywhere but in the lands they once ruled with a red hand. Is a 58 percent chance that an atheist leader will murder a noticeable percentage of the population over which he rules sufficient evidence that atheism does, in fact, provide a systematic influence to do bad things? If that is not deemed to be conclusive, how about the fact that the average atheist crime against humanity is 18.3 million percent worse than the very worst depredation committed by Christians, even though atheists have had less than one-twentieth the number of opportunities with which to commit them. If one considers the statistically significant size of the historical atheist set and contrasts it with the fact that not one in a thousand religious leaders have committed similarly large-scale atrocities, it is impossible to conclude otherwise, even if we do not yet understand exactly why this should be the case. Once might be an accident, even twice could be coincidence, but fifty-two incidents in ninety years reeks of causation!<ref>Vox Day (Theodore Beale), ''The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens'' (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc.), 2008, p. 17.</ref><ref>Ammi, Ken (June 11, 2009). [https://creation.com/atheism#atheism-communism "Atheism [quoting Vox Day&#93;"]. Creation Ministries International. Retrieved on July 19, 2014.</ref>}} The article ''Why the arguments of the ‘New Atheists’ are often just as violent as religion'' states:{{Cquote|Celebrity atheists such as Richard Dawkins appear to claim the moral high ground when it comes to violence. Dawkins, along with [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]], insist that because religion is intrinsically violent, then atheism is inherently more pacific. After all, if all the evils in the world can be blamed on religion, then arguably eliminating religion is not only desirable but a moral obligation for atheists who believe in peace. Yet [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629817302640 our research shows] that in the [[War on Terror]], these atheists have been surprisingly willing to align themselves with policies which are at least as violent – and in some cases more so – than many of those perpetrated in the name of religion... Their arguments are not new. But, unlike more ponderous academic atheist philosophers, they seemingly cultivated combative and acerbic, media-savvy personae. Their success at writing bestselling books, giving engaging public talks and cultivating a [[Global atheism|global following]] through [[social media]], has made them minor celebrities. For example, Dawkins has been depicted in [[South Park]], [[Family Guy]] and [[The Simpsons]] – and even made a cameo appearance in [[Dr. Who]].<ref>[https://theconversation.com/why-the-arguments-of-the-new-atheists-are-often-just-as-violent-as-religion-95185 ''Why the arguments of the ‘New Atheists’ are often just as violent as religion'']</ref>}}

On November 6, 2015, the ''New Republic'' published an article entitled, ''Is the New Atheism dead?''<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/123349/new-atheism-dead ''Is the New Atheism dead?] by Elizabeth Bruenig, New Republic, November 6, 2015</ref> In 2013, [[Theo Hobson]] wrote an article published at ''The Spectator'' entitled ''Richard Dawkins has lost: meet the new new atheists''<refname="spectator.co.uk">[http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/after-the-new-atheism/ Richard Dawkins has lost: meet the new new atheists] by Theo Hobson</ref> The atheist and evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson wrote, "The world appears to be tiring of the New Atheism movement.."<ref>[https://evolution-institute.org/article/the-new-atheism-as-a-stealth-religion-five-years-later/ The New Atheism as a Stealth Religion: Five Years Later] by David Sloan Wilson, Evolution Institute website</ref>

Atheism is still with us. But the movement that threatened to form has petered out. Crucially, atheism’s younger advocates are reluctant to compete for the role of Dawkins’s disciple. They are more likely to bemoan the new atheist approach and call for large injections of nuance. A good example is the pop-philosopher Julian Baggini. He is a stalwart atheist who likes a bit of a scrap with believers, but he’s also able to admit that religion has its virtues, that humanism needs to learn from it. For example, he has observed that a sense of gratitude is problematically lacking in secular culture, and suggested that humanists should consider ritual practices such as fasting.<refname="spectator.co.uk">[http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/after-the-new-atheism/ Richard Dawkins has lost: meet the new new atheists] by Theo Hobson</ref>}}

<ref>name="Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann 2006<"/ref> Dr. [[Sam Harris]] is one of the founders of the [[New Atheism]] movement. [[Sam Harris]] is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.<refname="newsinitiative.org">http://newsinitiative.org/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref> In fact, Dr. Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."<ref>http://name="newsinitiative.org"/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref>

''See also:'' [[Atheist nonprofit organizations and scandals]] and [[Atheism and stealing]]

Although the Brights Movement was not successful due to many people indicating the name of the campaign gave the impression of intellectual smugness, the publicly given rationale for the movement was that atheism needs a more bright/warm/cheerful/positive/inquisitive image.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/jun/21/society.richarddawkins The future looks bright, by Richard Dawkins, The Guardian]</ref><ref>[ https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/12/opinion/the-bright-stuff.html The Bright Stuff], Daniel Dennett, ''The New York Times''</ref><refname="Not Too Bright">[http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/not_too_bright/ Not Too “Bright"], ''Skeptical Enquirer'', Chris Mooney, October 15, 2003</ref> See also: [[Atheism and inspiration]].

The ABC News.com commentator John Allen Paulos remarked of the “brights” campaign, “I don’t think a degree in public relations is needed to expect that many people will construe the term as smug, ridiculous, and arrogant.”<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/not_too_bright/ name="Not Too “BrightBright"], ''Skeptical Enquirer'', Chris Mooney, October 15, 2003</ref> The Brights Movement largely came about because the label "atheist" has such a bad reputation. The atheist [[Sam Harris]] has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation." (See also: [[Views on atheists]] and [[Atheism and social outcasts]]).<ref>http://name="newsinitiative.org"/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist</ref>

According to a 2003 ''Skeptical Enquirer'' article by Christ Mooney, "From the start, the “brights” label label reinforced a longstanding stereotype. [[Atheism|Atheists]] already have a terrible rap for being coldhearted [[Rationalism|rationalists]] who attend [[Mensa]] gatherings and dismiss religious believers as simple-minded fools."<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/not_too_bright/ name="Not Too “BrightBright"], ''Skeptical Enquirer'', Chris Mooney, October 15, 2003</ref> In October of 2003 in a article in ''[[the Guardian]]'' Dawkins associated being a "bright" with being an intellectual.<ref>http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html</ref>

[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] wrote about [[secular left]]ists and leftists in general:

Why? Because they have no choice. Being false, their positions have to be dynamic, which means they can never hope for any significant degree of consistency. This is why ex post facto revision and double-talk are the hallmarks of the Left, and is why the first thing Leftists do when they are in a position of power is to erase history and attempt to silence any voices capable of calling attention to their fictions and contradictions.<ref>[httphttps://voxday.blogspot.comnet/2012/10/10/the-distaste-for-debate.html / The distaste for debate], Theodore Beale</ref>}}

As noted above, Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term [[democide]] (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.<ref>http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM</ref> See also: [[Atheism and Mass Murder|Atheism and mass murder]]

 The [[File:Question-Evolution-Campaign.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|The [https://creation.com/question-evolution Question evolution! campaign] by [[Creation Ministries International]] is a worldwide campaign which poses 15 questions that evolutionists cannot satisfactorily answer.<ref>for [[https://creation.com/question-evolution Question evolution! campaign] by [[Creation Ministries International]]ists.</ref> The name="15 questions posed to for evolutionists can be found ">[https://creation.com/15-questions HERE] ]]The [[Question evolution! campaign]] poses 15 questions for [[evolutionevolutionists]]ists.</ref name="15 questions for evolutionists">See: [https://creation.com/15-questions -for-evolutionists 15 questions for evolutionists]</ref>